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AMONG the vast and varied song repertories of North American Indians, there is a
category of songs that has received little attention from ethnomusicologists and
anthropologists: the native melodies with English words. A number of these songs
have been heard with amusement by workers in the field, and a few have been
recorded, but to my knowledge no one has attempted to study the significance of this
material and its relation to the societies that have produced it. Despite the paucity
of recordingsand information that precludes a comprehensive study of these interest-
ing songs, this paper is offered as an initial and tentative effort to give form and
interpretation to this material, with the hope that others may be stimulated to
carry out further investigations and research.
The slight value placed on many of these songs by the Indians themselves has
undoubtedly influenced some collectors to treat them casually. Though the Indian's
evaluation of, and attitude toward, this music is of prime importance to the investi-
gator, he dare not allow his approach to be influenced by that of the informant.
Too often the trained field worker in his single-minded pursuit of a problem, be it
social organization, religion, technology, or music, by-passes a wealth of significant
data because it is not directly related to his subject. Highly acculturated Indians
and even some scientists have revealed their feelings about these songs by referring
to them as "junk." And the amateur collector, whose work oftimes may be a
valuable source of material to the ethnomusicologist and anthropologist, in his
romantic search for the pure, unadulterated culture, is loath to record these modern
-=82
t l - -
w ,
--l Je - Sus /I
So - viour, dau - kwa- I
chi, Je - sus ! So - viour, --1.
dau-kwa-chi,
W
- -
W., "
Je sus So - viour, help Je sus So
-
,, me, ,
,-_1W - - viour, help me,
,
1. Variant
Je - sus So -viour, help me, hai - i hai- i hai ya hai i hai i haiyo
I care if you're married sixteen times, I will get you just the same,
don't,
You might know, you might know how I love you, yo o weyo he ya he ya
Vwlll watch the twilight sna - dows, From the cease- less march of the
S U
" ,
-, he yo hai yo, Now that -_
have come to your
moon, ya .'
we my
Well
e I'll
lodge - low the setting sun, e-a ha e-o ha e yo
foa
The following questions may bring pertinent answers: (I) Is the song a ceremonial
song or a social song? (2) If it is a social song, is it related to any ceremony as the
social or entertainment part of the ceremony? A society that limits the use of
English words to social songs would be classified as more sacred than one that admits
them to ceremonial songs. A society that allows the use of English words in secular
songs closely associated and identified with ceremonies or rituals would be classified
as less sacred and more acculturated. An example of this type is the Iroquois, where
new e:skii:nye? songs, sometimes called "Women's Dance" or "Women's Shuffle
Dance" songs, are sung for dancing during the major calendrical longhouse cere-
monies (Kurath, 1957). A further degree of acculturation and trend toward secu-
larization is to be noted in San Juan Pueblo, where English words have been intro-
duced into songs of the Turtle Dance, an annual ceremony celebrated on December
26th. Antonio Garcia (1957) of San Juan has furnished me with the following text:
We come west of Colorado ... (Keresan words or fill-in syllables).
Beautiful clouds over me ... (Keresan words or fill-in syllables).
By his miracle power ... (fill-in syllables).
My father compels them to make rain ... (Keresan or fill-in syllables).
(After many verses in Indian the English text continues.)
Yes, yes, ... (Keresan and fill-in syllables).
You shall be happy ... (in Tewa-The Oxuwa (Raingods) are coming).
Coming with their power to make rain, here they come.
Garciawrites of the Turtle Dance, "It is also called Nu-Fah, which literally translated
means Ash-Fire. No one seems to know the exact function of the dance, but I
think it must be a winter solstice ceremony, perhaps for ushering in the winter
solstice. It is not the prerogative nor the property of any particular clan, society or
moiety, and every able-bodied male in the pueblo is expected to participate. This
was particularly true before we started becoming acculturated. Today, only the
'obedient' males take part. The dance is performed outside, in the plazas, and then
like other important ceremonies, there is a very short performanceof the same in the
Kiva, before and after the outside performance. You might call this a prelude and
postlude." Of special interest is Garcia's report of the response of the native to this
innovation. He continues, "When the composer came out with the English text for
this song, I think that most of the Pueblo members were pleased and delighted and
although I was horrifiedat first, I now feel that the words fit into the music very well
and that they serve the purpose well. I am sure that this has been the first time
that English words have been used in a religious song in San Juan and perhaps the
main reason was because most Pueblo members now speak and understand English
and some of us can express ourselves better in English." (3) What proportion of
the words are in English? Here one must distinguish between the songs that are in
the native language except for an occasional English word, and those in which the
meaningful text is expressed in good syntactical English with the ends of phrases
filled out with Indian syllables. (4) Are the words and the thoughts they express
borrowed from white songs? The texts of most of the social dance songs are heavy
with borrowings from the popular song repertoire of the white man, whereas the text
of the San Juan Turtle Dance is more or less a literal translation of a native text and
thoroughly indigenous in its thought and feeling. (5) Are the meaningless syllables
traditional Indian ones, or have they been borrowed from the white music? David
McAllester(1957) has recordeda new song in the Navaho language in which the cowboy
syllables, yippie ya displace the traditional Navaho syllables. (6) Does the style
and form of the melody conform to the musical style of the native music? (7) If it
departs from the tribal or culture-areal style, in what way and to what extent? There
are a number of songs that are outright Indian versions of white songs in which the
original tunes are closely followed. I have recorded a Hopi version of "Dixie" sung
by Edmund Nequatewa, long associated with the Museum of Northern Arizona at
Flagstaff. William Sturtevant reports Iroquois songs to the tunes of "Hot Time in
the Old Town Tonight" and "Redwing," both without meaningful words. Sturtevant
notes "These with borrowed tunes have introductions and closes in straight Iroquois
style-the foreign tune (and harmony, if any) is embedded as the central part of an
otherwise ordinary Iroquois tune-and this is part of what makes them sound funny,
to me and I think to the singers." (8) Is the song sung monophonically or is it
harmonized? (9) If it is harmonized how many parts are there? Though the
majority of these songs are sung monophonically there are rare instances of experi-
ments in harmony, as noted by Sturtevant. (Io) Was the song made by a member
of the tribe in which it is sung or was it borrowed from another tribe? A society
that produces its own music in the modern style would be considered more secular
than one that borrows its new music from neighbouring societies. (II) What are
the ages of the singers of the new songs? If the songs are sung by persons past middle
age, as well as by the young, one would conclude that acculturation had progressed
to a point beyond that in societies where these songs are sung only by the younger
generation. (12) Is the singing style and technique native, or is it that of the white
man? A singing style influenced by that of the white man and with relatively clear
pronunciation of English words would represent a higher degree of acculturation
than one in which the native techniques are employed with distorted pronunciation
of the English. (13) What proportion of the songs in the various categories employ
English words? The relatively small number of songs with English words leads one
to believe that this class of song, despite its age of several decades is still accepted as
a novelty, and that it occupies an ancillary position in the total repertoire.
The new music, carefully studied, can serve (I believe) as an index of the accul-
turation of a society. I have no neat mathematical formula or equation to propose,
and I would resist an attempt to give statistical evaluation to anything so variable
and intangible as the data these questions might provide. Though the material
presented here is insufficient in quantity to justify any definite conclusions, it is
hoped that the methodological approach may prove suggestive and stimulating to
students of folk music.
REFERENCES
Garcia, Antonio (1957). Personal communication.
Higginson, J. Vincent (I954). "Hymnody in the American Indian Missions."
Kurath, Gertrude (I957). Personal communication.
McAllester, David (1957). Personal communication.
Sanders, Schwendeman, Woodbury, Becker (1956). Societies Around the World, edited in one
volume by Howard Hecker, New York.
Sturtevant, William C. (I957). Personal communication.
Rhodes, Willard (1952). "Acculturation in North American Indian Music," Acculturation in the
Americas (Proceedings and Selected Papers of the XXIXth International Congress of Ameri-
canists), Chicago, pp. 127-132.
(196o). "The Christian Hymnology of the North American Indians," Selected Papers of
the Fifth Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Philadelphia, pp. 324-331.
(1956). "On the Subject of Ethnomusicology," Ethnomusicology Newsletter, No. 7, pp. I-9.